Philemon 1:21

I wrote unto thee ; write (Revised Version; see Philemon 1:19 ), or perhaps referring back, as in Philemon 1:19 , to the request in Philemon 1:17 . The strong, fervid, and repeated appeals of the apostle had not been caused by distrust of Philemon, nor of their own efficacy, but were the natural outcome of the strong interest he felt in the case of Onesimus, and the desire he felt to replace him in the favor of his master; partly also, perhaps, to the warmth and fervor of his natural character, which uttered itself involuntarily in forcible expressions.